Balloons
by Rawrsomez
Summary: Chelley One-Shot. Chell comes home with some balloons. Fluff ensues. Wheatley's POV. Not mute Chell, human Wheatley. Set after the events of Portal 2/slightly AU. Was going to fit in somewhere in my current story, but I think it fits better as a one-shot. Review if ya feel like it, tell me what you think/what could be improved.


**Balloons**

_Wheatley's POV_

Chell comes home after about fifteen minutes, just like she predicted, with two full bags of various food supplies and other things she had needed around her apartment. A large smile is painted across her face as she sets them down on the shiny granite kitchen counter. She only takes one crinkly packet of something out, though, and turns to face me, still grinning like a fool. Before I can see what it is, though, Chell takes my hand and walks me to the bedroom. For a second I am unsure what she is going to do, but she turns, closing the door and locking me in the room.

"Five minutes." Chell speaks with slight force so she is heard through the door, her voice still a little throaty. Oh, sure. I can wait.

"I've got a surprise. For you." I can hear her smiling through her words. Ok, I can't wait. Nope.

I amuse myself by taking a bouncy ball from a bowl full of trinkets on the windowsill, and bouncing it against the one free wall. I need to practise being more 'dexterous' and 'coordinated', as Chell says. I'm working on it. I take a while to get the hang of it, but by the time Chell unlocks the door and pokes her head around the corner, I can catch the ball. Most of the time.

"Chell! Hey, look at this! You told me to practise being more… more… um... useful with my hands and look what I can do!" I tell her proudly, beaming across at her. With a lot of concentration, I demonstrate my new-found skill and confidence, throwing the ball across the room and safely catching it in both of my hands. She claps for a few seconds and I take a proud bow. Chell beckons at me to follow her. On my way I return the small ball.

The state of the kitchen wipes the smile off my face.

"Uh, Chell, luv? What are those? Are we bein' invaded or something? Is this some new breed of alien?" I frown and my forehead creases at the sight of the teardrop shaped floaty things that cover the living room.

Chell bursts into laughter.

"What? What is it, luv? What did I say?" She doesn't reply, but saunters over to the computer, her shoulders still shaking with giggles. I watch how fast her fingers are able to type, completely bewildered. It takes me half an hour just to type in one sentence. I suppose I haven't entirely gotten used to fingers yet. Or legs, for that matter. I still fumble over my over clumsy feet from time to time. I absolutely loathed that stupid management rail, but at least it was easy to manoeuvre on.

Chell has typed in the word 'balloon'. What's one of those then?

She clicks to the images part of the browser and I become horrified as I see the same kind of thing in countless pictures.

"Oh, god! Th-they're _everywhere! _We've got to stop them, what are their weaknesses? It's important we save the world, they're targeting children mostly!" I start pacing back and forth, staring at the intruders.

"They're called balloons. They're fun." Chell says to me through her fits of giggles, walking over to the 'balloons'.

"No, no, no! Chell, be careful, luv, they're clever! If I were you, I would be very sure that they are deactivated or in some kind of hibernation or- **_Aahh_**!"

I scream rather femininely as Chell picks one of them up and throws it directly at me. Oh. No deadly pain, alien probing or deadly lasers.

She throws another balloon at me and I smile. They're awfully resistant to gravity, these things. And harmless too. That's always a good thing. Being harmless.

Cautiously I pick up one of these so called balloons, and try to balance it on my fingertips. After a while just holding one in my hands and throwing it about a bit, I decide to throw one back at Chell. She catches it and kicks a load of them towards me. I laugh as they float and bob around in the kitchen. I catch one rather forcefully and-

BANG!

I bolt behind the kitchen counter and hide, scared that something has exploded. I peer round the sharp edge at Chell standing bewildered.

"Chell. _Chell_. **_Chell!_**" I whisper to her. "What happened?"

She starts snickering again.

"It popped." Chell says, drawing out the last 'p' and 'd'. "It scared you. Quite badly." This makes her start her adorable laughter again. It is a rather cute sound, if I'm honest. It reminds me of the little wind chimes that Chell keeps hung over the window. It's quite relaxing to listen to them tinkle in the wind.

"Oh. So… there were no bombs… or… deadly explosions… or grenades? Well that's good, isn't it? Should I be gentler with those balloons then?" She nods firmly, sitting down in the mass of colourful balloons. It's rather funny how her head peeks out of the bubbly inflatables and I sit next to her, careful not to pop any more.

I yelp as something protrudes and pokes me in the ribcage. I flinch away before realising it was Chell. Chell's finger, to be precise.

"Oi!" I exclaim whilst reaching out to prod her back. The little squeal that her throat produces is one of the cutest sounds I've ever heard. This time when she stretches out to touch me, both of her hands take a hold on either side of my waist and she starts doing this odd mix of… fast stroking and… almost scratching. As I find, it is incredibly uncomfortable and makes me unable to stop giggling. Chell uses her hands to climb on top of me to stop me wriggling away. She has a giant grin on her beautiful face and our laughter combines in a sweet harmony. I decide to take back the power and suddenly flip Chell over and attempt the same motion on her. This elicits another delightful squeal to pass her lips and her mouth to change to a surprised 'o' shape. Her expression is quickly erased by her laughter, that bloody wonderful laughter. She attempts to get me back, but her spasms are too much for her to cope with.

We writhe underneath the blanket of balloons, until we are out of breath. My stomach hurts a bit from laughing so much, but as I lie over Chell's body, the way she looks right now would take my mind off of the most excruciating pain. Her face is flushed, still flashing that flawless smirk, and it is mere inches away from mine. When our eyes meet in an intense stare, the only sounds are the faint bobbling of the balloons and Chell's sharp intake of breath as I crash my lips onto hers. There is nothing quick or desperate about the kiss, even though it does seem to end too soon. The moment is perfect, as perfect as Chell is. I lean my head back, worried about coming on too strong, but she uses her hands to move my head back down and presses her lips to mine again. Her hands move to play with my messy blonde hair and mine rest in the crook of her neck. As she pulls away, she keeps her iridescent eyes locked firmly with my blue ones.

"Wow, luv." I whisper, lying down by her side. One of her hands is still tangled in my hair, the other intertwined with mine. I move my free hand to cup her face gently. She is so strong, yet so fragile, my Chell, and I am afraid that one touch could crumble her entire being.

My Chell.

I like the sound of that.

Chell nuzzles her head in my grey t-shirt then mumbles, "Love you."

My eyes want to water. It's not often Chell is so honest and open about her feelings. When she does, it's as if she's giving me a little part of her. Times like these, it's like she's trusting me with a tiny jigsaw piece to keep close until the day she shows me the whole puzzle. I wish that day would come sooner.

"I love you too, sweetheart." I whisper back.

"Oh, and Chell?" She looks up quizzically.

"Surprise me more often."


End file.
